In a frigid apocalypse, I went on a shopping spree with the reborn.

Liu Yuyao held the seventh-tier crystal core in her hand, met the four pairs of greedy eyes opposite her, and tentatively said, "Captain Wang, we have no grudges against each other. It's just about this crystal core. Everything can be discussed. Don't be impulsive."

While stalling for time, he quickly calculated in his mind what the chances of killing the opponent were.

Captain Wang? Jiang Qingyue stood on the edge of the cliff. There were two people with the surname Wang whose combat power exceeded 100,000: Wang Longhua, the captain of the "Frost Squad", and Wang Defa, the captain of "The Palace of the Emperor Gou".

I just don't know which Captain Wang it is.

As Jiang Qingyue was speculating, the man revealed his identity.

"Delaying time is useless. Since I, Wang Longhua, dare to covet this crystal core, I have the ability to do so."

"Captain Liu, I know you have Wang Dawei's diary and know far more than the average person. I also know your combat strength is no less than mine, and I know you must have the essence of Plant Doctor in your possession."

"But in the end, you are not Jiang Qingyue. By exchanging with her, you can only get a limited amount of essence, and besides, I also have some."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuyao cursed under her breath, because after calculating the odds, she realized that she couldn't possibly win.

It wasn't because the other side had two more people, but because Wang Longhua was her nemesis.

Her snake-sword is fast and sharp.

The downside is that it's light, and if it encounters something that can't be penetrated, its lethality is even less than that of a brick.

Normally, this weakness wouldn't be a big deal. With the same combat power of 100,000, she had fought with Chen Sanyang before. Relying on her extreme speed and snake-like movements, she was able to gain the upper hand every time.

Unfortunately, Wang Longhua was primarily a defender.

While others might not know, she knew very well from Wang Dawei's notebook that, in addition to gaining lifespan by completing the hidden mission of "walking naked on ice," this guy also had a special item: alloy skin.

It is a type of defensive weapon that can be activated instantly during combat, enveloping the entire body like an alloy man. Although its speed is limited, its defense is terrifyingly strong.

As a special item of the same level, her Serpent Sword was useless against her opponent. On the contrary, she had to be extremely careful. If she got close and was hit by Wang Longhua, her bones would be shattered.

She glanced at Chen Sanyang beside her, but before she could say anything, Wang Longhua laughed: "Are you thinking that since your rapier is countered by mine, you want this little brother to play with me?"

Liu Yuyao didn't say anything; that was indeed what she thought.

Although Chen Sanyang's golden longsword could not break through Wang Longhua's defense, the longsword was heavy, and even if it could not break through the defense, it would still be enough to give Wang Longhua a hard time when it was used as a blunt weapon.

"They're all the same." Wang Longhua put his hands on his hips, not taking the two men seriously at all. Instead, he pointed to the man next to him: "This is my brother. He just broke through 100,000 combat power ten minutes ago. He's also a tank. Come on, brother, show them what he's made of."

The man grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth, and clenched his fists.

"Ah-hey!" With a roar, his body swelled several times over, transforming into a three-meter-tall giant. His clothes were torn apart, and his muscles bulged beyond human limits.

"He also focuses on defense," Wang Longhua said. "If your rapier can't break through my defense, it won't be able to break through his either."

The giant laughed and reached out to Liu Yuyao: "Give it to me, you can't beat anyone anyway. Give it to me now, and you'll avoid a beating."

Liu Yuyao pursed her lips, her expression solemn.

She could give away a seventh-tier crystal core, but she knew that giving it away meant the other party was certain she had no trump cards.

In this way, the rest of the items, including the contents of the notebook, and their lives, would be lost.

Chen Sanyang had never seen his boss look so grim since arriving at the Overlord Base, and he immediately became unhappy.

"Can't you speak properly? Who are you calling 'little brother'? I'm old enough to be your uncle. You're so disrespectful, haven't you ever been taught a lesson by your elders?"

"Today, I, Third Master, will teach you a lesson on behalf of your elders."

After saying that, he charged straight at Wang Longhua and the giant.

Liu Yuyao slammed her eyes shut; it was too late to dissuade her. She knew Xiao Sanzi's intentions, and quickly drew her sword, charging towards the two men behind Wang Longhua. She hoped these two would actually be of some use, otherwise Xiao Sanzi was doomed this time.

Wang Longhua was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant and laughed in anger: "You might not even be my match in a one-on-one fight, and you actually want to take on two of me? You're asking for trouble."

"Yeah, I'm tired of living. Let's talk after I kill your Third Master."

No sooner had Chen Sanyang finished speaking than he found himself in a situation where he was attacked from both sides.

A giant's palm strike and Wang Longhua's kick.

Faced with a giant hand and size 43 feet, he instinctively chose to avoid the giant's large hand and take Wang Longhua's kick head-on.

He regretted it the next moment.

A crisp "snap" sounded.

The sound of bones breaking echoed faintly from the narrow valley. Standing on the cliff, Jiang Qingyue felt that it was really good to be strong, because he could even hear bones breaking.

When Chen Sanyang fell to the ground, he felt that the injury on his wrist no longer hurt.

I couldn't help but grimace. Damn it, I'd only ever heard of happiness needing to be compared to others, and poverty needing to be compared to others. I never thought that even pain would need to be compared to others.

"Boss, are you done yet?"

Liu Yuyao took a moment to answer: "Three seconds."

"Damn it!" Chen Sanyang grabbed his knife and rolled to the side, but before he could get up, Wang Longhua's attack arrived.

I never expected that three seconds would take so long!

He slashed with his golden longsword, knowing he probably wouldn't be able to cut through it, but he should be able to block it for a second.

Good news, Wang Longhua blocked it with his hand.

Bad news, it didn't stop the giant's foot.

With one stomp, Chen Sanyang could no longer feel anything below his chest.

One second to go.

In Chen Sanyang's hazy consciousness, he saw the boss holding a man by the back of the neck: "Stop, or I'll kill him."

Wang Longhua and the giant stopped, their fists only centimeters away from Chen Sanyang's head.

Wang Longhua helplessly withdrew his fist and turned to look at Liu Yuyao: "Captain Liu is indeed strong and fast."

He wasn't unaware of Liu Yuyao and the others' plans, but the two who were with him were both vice-captains of the Frost Squad, with a combat power of over 90,000, just a tiny bit short of 100,000.

In his estimation, the two of them working together, even if they couldn't win, would at least be able to hold off Liu Yuyao.

Unexpectedly, from the start of the fight to its end, it only took five seconds for the two to be beaten half to death and have knives held to their necks.

"However, Captain Liu, Chen Sanyang is someone who followed you from the Happiness Base to the new base. Your relationship must be special, right? What makes you think I would trade his life for the lives of two subordinates?"

"Are you sure you don't want to switch?" Liu Yuyao retorted. "They're both about to die. If you don't switch, I'll give each of them a Plant Doctor Essence and some crystal cores. They'll instantly reach a combat power of 100,000."

"Do you think they'll choose you, the leader who abandoned them in this crisis, or me, who is stronger and more loyal?"

"..." Wang Longhua's mouth twitched.

He glanced at Chen Sanyang, who was half-dead and barely clinging to life.

He did have some Plant Doctor Essence, but even if he gave it to Chen Sanyang, the other party wouldn't side with him.

At that time, he and the big guy will have to fight two against three. Even if they have a way to restrain Liu Yuyao and the three of them can't beat them, they can't expect to keep her here.

They were just trying to steal things, but if they offended Liu Yuyao and lost two brothers with nearly 100,000 combat power, they wouldn't have gotten a single thing.

Wang Longhua didn't even need to try; just thinking about it, he knew that once Liu Yuyao went back and reported it, he would become the laughingstock of this apocalyptic world.

It can also lead to a loss of morale and unity.

After all, he could stand by and watch his brother, who was about to reach 100,000 combat power, die. Who would dare to work for him in the future?

Liu Yuyao applied slight pressure with her sword, leaving a bright red line of blood on their necks: "I'll count to ten. If you agree, we can switch people anytime. If you disagree..."

"No need to count anymore." Wang Longhua threw Chen Sanyang across the table in frustration: "I'm returning the man to you, now release my brother."

Liu Yuyao didn't move, but glanced at Chen Sanyang on the ground.

The other person understood and painstakingly took out a pill and put it in their mouth, and Wang Longhua did not stop them.

Once Chen Sanyang had recovered, he urged, "Release them."

Liu Yuyao was helpless. She could kill both of them now, but even if she killed her and Xiao Sanzi, she wouldn't have the upper hand.

It might also enrage Wang Longhua. As for trying to win them over, once Wang Longhua decides to make the exchange, these two will no longer be able to side with her.

Since that's the case, it's better to return the person to the other party, which will also consume two of their Plant Doctor Essences.

She sheathed her sword and tossed the person over there.

Wang Longhua took the person, examined the injuries, and his face turned ashen.

Such a severe injury is incurable except with the essence of a plant doctor.

It's one thing if they died, but we can't just ignore the fact that they've been brought back, can we?

Gritting their teeth, they took out two essence capsules and put one in each of their mouths.

After the battle, their situation was back to square one. They looked at each other speechlessly, unable to kill him, yet giving up was out of the question.

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Longhua said, "I don't want the crystal core anymore. Can I take a look at Wang Dawei's diary?"

"No," Liu Yuyao said. "I knew someone would try to steal it. After memorizing everything inside, I burned the notebook long ago."

Wang Longhua was furious: "You say you'll burn it, so why should I believe you?"

Liu Yuyao shook the backpack behind her: "I don't even have a spatial backpack, what's the point of keeping it? To let someone like you steal it?"

Wang Longhua choked.

Without storage space, that notebook would indeed be inconvenient to carry around. If it were him, to be absolutely sure, he would definitely write down the contents and then burn it.

That's understandable, but does that mean he'll get nothing today?

Liu Yuyao rubbed the crystal core in her hand. The purple crystal core was mysterious and beautiful, containing a large amount of energy.

But as long as there are enough zombies, level seven crystal cores will come sooner or later.

With her strength, as long as she can find it, killing a level 7 zombie shouldn't be too dangerous.

To be honest, she wanted to just throw the crystal core at Wang Longhua and leave. After all, if it happened again, Wang Longhua wouldn't be careless, and Xiao Sanzi couldn't possibly hold off two experts of the same level. She wouldn't have another chance to threaten Wang Longhua with the lives of her two subordinates.

But she worried that people's desires were insatiable, and once she gave it to him, Wang Longhua would want more than just this seventh-order crystal core.

Just as they were caught in a dilemma, a clear voice came from above the cliff: "How many of you? Since the spoils are not divided fairly, why don't I, as the host, confiscate them?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

None of them were weaklings, and they immediately looked toward the source of the sound.

The woman on the cliff held an ice-blue bow and looked down at them.

Jiang Qingyue!

When they saw the Snow Concealed Bow, everyone knew who had come.

Wang Longhua had a gut feeling that he might be wasting his time today, but he still tried to get away with it, shouting at the top of his lungs towards the cliff: "So it's the famous Captain Jiang! Captain Jiang, what are you doing here?"

Jiang Qingyue: "That's the question I should be asking you. Nangong Zhao has moved away; this Quanshui City is my territory. What are you doing here?"

"We've come to help clear out the zombies."

"Really?" Jiang Qingyue chuckled. "Then thank you all for your help. Now that the zombies are cleared out, you can leave. Oh, and since you came to help, you should leave me the crystal cores."

"Why should we?" the big man's voice boomed. They'd been killing for ages, and all their work had been for nothing?

Jiang Qingyue said matter-of-factly, "That's not true. You came to help my family pick corn, so of course it's ours after you've finished. You can't just take it to your own house after you've finished picking it, can you?"

"Or are you here to rob us instead of to help? Let me tell you, I don't treat robbers well."

"I..." The big guy was choked half to death, feeling a tightness in his throat. He looked at his captain and saw that Wang Longhua had a solemn expression.

Liu Yuyao also looked unwell.

She felt she should go home and consider whether it was a good day to go out. She hadn't even dealt with Wang Longhua yet, and now an even more troublesome one had appeared.

"My family doesn't welcome uninvited guests. Either the crystal core stays and the person leaves, or the crystal core stays with the person."

The group fell silent.

Their backpacks were full of crystal cores; they had paid a huge price along the way to lure out the zombies.

Seeing their reluctance, Jiang Qingyue hooked two fingers around the bowstring, and the power of ice and snow quickly condensed into an arrow: "Or you could try coming at me all at once and see if you can get close?"

She yelled at the top of her lungs, "Let me tell you a secret: I'm really weak in close combat, I'm a fragile character. Whoever can get close to me wins."

Upon hearing this, Wang Longhua's brow twitched. The big guy was even more pathetic than him, and despite being three meters tall, he actually tried to shrink behind him.

The stronger the person, the more they could feel the power of that arrow. Unlike Liu Yuyao's Serpent Sword, they felt that this arrow, formed from the power of ice and snow, could break through their defenses.

Even if they weren't hit by arrows, it would take them at least eight breaths to climb up from the bottom of the cliff. Those eight breaths would be enough for Jiang Qingyue to fire countless arrows.

Wang Longhua looked at Liu Yuyao and asked casually, "Do you want to cooperate?"

Once the crystal core is given, Jiang Qingyue will only grow stronger and stronger, leaving them far behind again, just like before. It's clear that they can never get it back.

Liu Yuyao rubbed her temples, quickly opened her backpack, and took out two large bags.

One bag contains first-order crystal nuclei, and another bag contains second-order and above.

Not only hers, she also opened Chen Sanyang's backpack, took out two bags of crystal cores, and put the purple crystal core in her hand into them.

He shouted towards the cliff, "It's all gone, it's all here."

"Thank you so much, Captain Liu, for your generosity. I hope we can work together again in the future."

Liu Yuyao's lips twitched, and she tentatively took a few steps towards the outside of the valley with Chen Sanyang. Seeing that Jiang Qingyue did not stop her, she quickly left.

As soon as she left, Wang Longhua knew that, in Liu Yuyao's judgment, or rather, in Wang Dawei's diary, Jiang Qingyue was invincible in long-range combat!

Even if they had four experts with a combat power of 100,000 and two with a combat power of over 90,000, they still wouldn't have any chance of winning. Otherwise, Liu Yuyao wouldn't have left so decisively.

Wang Longhua practically ground his back teeth to powder before finally uttering, "Give it to her."

Upon hearing this, the underlings quickly took out all the crystal cores they had, so quickly that they seemed ready to surrender at any moment, just waiting for Wang Longhua to say those words.

"Damn it!" Wang Longhua cursed under his breath and opened his backpack.

After taking the crystal cores, a voice came from the cliff: "Let's go. Remember, if you ever trespass on my territory without reporting it, leaving behind crystal cores won't save your life."

Upon hearing this, Wang Longhua could no longer contain himself and turned to shout, "Believe it or not, I really didn't mean to trespass. I heard from the rumors that Nangong Zhao and her team left, and I thought that without anyone to guard Quanshui City, the zombies would definitely be rampant."

"We were thinking of coming here to get some crystal cores, and also to avoid encountering a top-tier zombie king. If Captain Jiang doesn't like it, we promise we'll never set foot in Spring City again."

Jiang Qingyue was speechless. She looked at the Corpse King CEO, then at Yan Bao: "Do I have a face that's easy to fool?"

"There are plenty of zombies in the world, why not kill them anywhere? Why do they have to come to my Spring City?"

"Following this logic, can I also just walk into someone else's territory, or even their home, anytime? For example, if I think your partner looks like a bad guy, or your subordinate looks like a bad guy, can I interrogate them for you?"

"Chirp chirp." Yan Bao didn't care about anything else. All it knew was that there were many crystal cores below, and it lunged forward, trying to jump down.

Jiang Qingyue reached out and hooked her foot back: "Wait a little longer."

"Chirp?" What are you waiting for?

Jiang Qingyue didn't reply, but the bow she was holding remained still.

A few breaths later, a gust of wind came from behind.

Jiang Qingyue turned around and fired an arrow. Without pausing, she then fired a second arrow at Yan Bao's back.

Both arrows hit their mark.

The small pile of broken ice represents Wang Longhua, while the large pile of broken ice represents that three-meter-tall giant.

"Actually, I regretted letting them go as soon as you left." Jiang Qingyue patted her chest. "Thankfully, they're no longer in danger of surviving."